Cylindrical container



March 10, 1953 A. ELMENDORF CYLINDRICAL CONTAINER 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 Filed July 51. 1948 Patented Mar. 10, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT orrics assess r OYLINDRICAL oonrramm= ArminElmendorf, winnak 11L. I

Application Iuly s1, 1948; S:erial:No.- nasv-av 'My invention, relates to an improvement in containers andi'n. blanks from which containers may; beforme'd.

One purpose is to provide-arr improved tubular container;

Another purpose is to provide an improved blankwhich' may be shipped and stored flat, but which. is". adapted for the easy and efiicient fornratiorr of tubular containers without the necessity" of employing special machinery;-

Knother' purpose is to provide an improved reinforcing assembly for' tubular containers.

Another" purpose is to* provide an improved method of forming tubular or cylindrical cont'ainers.

Other purposes will appearfrom time to time in thecourseof-the-specification and claims.

I illustrate the invention moraorl'ess' diagrammaticall'y'in the accompanyingdrawings'; wherem:-

Figure 1' is'a perspective view, with parts broken away, of a container embodying my: invention;

Figure 2" is a section on an enlarged scale on the IineZ-J of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section on theline 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 43 is aperspective view of' the material from which the: side wall. of the container: is formed;

Figure is a-section on" the line 5;--5 of Figlire-4';

Figure: 6 is. a diagrammatio illustration; of; a step in the preparation of material" of Figure; l for use in making the container offFigure. 1

Figure 7 is a perspective view" of a form: or blank which maybe employedcin: forming the container ofFi'gure I; and

Figure 8 is a section on an enlarged scale on the-line 88 of Figure 7'.

like parts are indicated by like symbols throughout the specification and drawings:

Referring to the drawings, I' generally: indieates zit-container side wall andZ-the head of the containerwhich may include a portion: 3' of a diameter substantially that of the inner surface of theside wall I and anouter p'ortion having a diameter substantially equal to the exterior diameter of the outer wall I, with reference to the position of the parts= in the completed container;

Theside-wall' l is shown as formed of an outer layer 5 of a material preferably having thegeneral characteristics; as to fi'exihility andst'reng-th, oi strone paper; such as kraft liner boar-di How"- (emu-,4):

2: I ever; any suitable flexible: materiall may: belemzr pl'oyed", including; if desired, atextile; ii. i, digca-tes' an inner: layer of similar: material; Be:- tween the layers 5 and 6 is alayeri'l constituted by strips orelements of wood? veneerrwhich: separated" asby intervals m2. The inner layer maybe formed by cutti'nga sheet orband of Wood veneer, along the; grain. into= spaced: strips or elementswhicn are structurally separate; but which remain: irr the: same: relative position: as in the uncut veneer; They: may: be of: a width offrom one. to ten times their thickness. It is important; in" most instances*,., that the individual strips or elements 1, if not completelysevered from' each other; are: at least sufficiently separated to destroy any effective: structural unity orccntinuity; While: I d'oznot wish to be-limite.d.

toaa. particular spacingrofzfthe strips; I findit con:- venierrt to: spacev them: apart sufliciently toex.- tend orexpand: the across-the-grain length of the veneer-by" a. proportion of the order of'five to fifteen percent. Figure 4 illustrates a panel ofsuchimaterial whichis cut or. formed to proper size to provide a blank for: forming the container of; Figure 1. It will be--understoodthat theblank constitutes" the: side wall I ofi the-container. In the condition in which it is shown in- Figure 4 the panel of material is flexiblealongthe grain, but tends tOliBOl? remainfla-t. I findlit-ad-vantas geous, when-.I- am going tozuse suchmaterial in the formation ofa cylindrical container, or a container-having; a. tubular Wall. which is-v rounded cross. section,. to.- subject; the-blankto. an initial forming operation; In. Figure 6 I; illustrate. the material as passing between: shaping rolls. 8, Sand Hi; The result is. to crimp orv crease. or fold or upset? the inner layer-6; as at. 6a, along the-inter.- vals between" adjacent stripsor'elementsl. During; the process, theouter flexible layer 591:5 under: tension but. is of sufficient strength to resist ruptureor weakening; After the material is passed through: thegrolls-d 5 and til itmay be pressed back. into fiat or substantially flat position'and may be stored, later to be packed and shipped: in flat condition. Ithas a biaswhich makes it easy manually to roll itintocylindrical or tubular: form; when the user wishes: to form it; for-examplaintoa cylindrical container? It will be understood that-when I: employ.- the term cylindrical inmy; description. or; in: my claims, I: wish: it: to be interpreted: with sufiicient' breadth to: include any tubular container where: a. single side wall is used,- such as the: side wall lsiof Figure The side wallzmay-be-cylin- .drica'lovaI,. o1: peams hapedr urgin general,

rolled or curved into a form which is curvilinear in cross section.

Assume that I wish to store or to ship blanks to a point of use, where they can be assembled into containers at maximum speed, with minimum effort and without special machinery. Under those circumstances, I find it advantageous to provide the blank with reinforcing and securing means which can be stored or shipped as part of the blank. I find it advantageous to employ flexible straps which may, for example, be of sheet metal, and which can be attached to the blanks before the blanks are stored or shipped. For example, in Figure 7, I show a blank from which a tubular or a cylindrical container can be formed. I illustrate three straps ll! which may be of sheet metal and which may have upset prongs I i closely spaced therealong, which can be driven through the blank. Preferably the straps I!) are of greater length than the blank itself, as will be clear from Figure 7. On one or both of the free ends, I may position any suitable locking members i 2, whereby the free ends of a given strap may be secured together as shown in Figure 1. Details of the locking members do not as themselves form part of the present invention, but I prefer a locking member which may be applied and released without the use of special equipment. In the form shown in Figure 1, for example, ears or lugs I2a are employed, which can readily be bent into releasing position by an ordinary knife blade or screw driver or the like. It is also advantageous to leave at least at one end of the blank a length of the strap which, while it overlies the edge or end portion of the blank, is not actually secured to it. Such free lengths are shown, for example, at Ila. It will be understood that the blank shown in Figure '7 may be stored or shipped or supplied with the securing members 12 already in position at one end of each strap, or the securing members may be supplied later, at the point or time of use.

' The blanks shown in Figure '7 may be stored fiat, and may be shipped flat to the point of use. There the user merely bends or rolls the already pre-bent blank into its final form around a suitable mandrel. A convenient method is merely to drop one of the heads 2 into proper position and then roll the side wall 2 around it. The heads and the blank are properly proportioned so that the opposed edges I5 of the blank either abut or closely approach, as shown in Figure 1. They may be secured together for example by an adhesive tape IS. This tape may be initially applied to one end of the blank and shipped with it. It is, in general, more practical to apply the tape at the point of assembly. The tape is advantageous in preventing leakage through the opposed edges l5. It also may serve to give additional strength or reinforcement. Thus a very strong container is provided, in which a head at each end serves as a form or reinforcement. The blank or side wall may be secured directly to the head, for example, by nails 11, thus preventing unintended removal of ends or heads of the container. These are preferably driven through the straps 10. The side wall is secured, and reinforced by the straps ID, the ends of which may be secured together as shown in Figure 1.

It should be kept in mind that the securing strip 19 must provide strength in shear at least as great as that of the rest of the panel or sheet or side wall I itself. Note that the free ends of the reinforcing straps Ill overlie the sealing and shear-resisting strip 16, the employment of free '4 ends at one or both ends of each strap making the later application of the strip [6 practical and convenient.

It will be realized that whereas I have described and shown a practical and operative method and structure, nevertheless many changes may be made in size, shape, number and disposition of the parts without departing from the spirit of my invention. I therefore wish my description and drawings to be taken as in a broad sense illus trative or diagrammatic, rather than as limiting me to my precise disclosure herein. It will be understood that I wish the term cylindrical to be interpretated sufficiently broadly to cover any tubular form of container in which a side wall is curvilinear in transverse cross section.

I claim:

1. A blank for tubular containers which includes two layers of paper having secured between them a layer of veneer separated along the grain, and transversely of the blank, into narrow strips, the strips being spaced apart a distance sufficient to extend the length of the veneer, across the grain, by generally from five to fifteen percent, the strips being in their original relative position but structurally unconnected, said blank having one layer of paper in its original extended condition and the other layer upset along its length with creases located substantially entirely along the gaps between the veneer strips.

2. The structure of claim 1 characterized by and including flexible straps secured at closely spaced intervals to the uncreased surface of the blank.

3. The structure of claim 1 characterized by and including flexible sheet metal straps secured at closely spaced intervals to the uncreased surface of the blank.

i. The structure of claim 1 characterized by and including flexible straps secured to the uncreased surface of the blank and of greater length than the blank.

5. The structure of claim 1 characterized by and including flexible straps extending across the grain of the veneer and secured to the uncreased surface of the blank.

6. The structure of claim 1 characterized by and including flexible straps extending across the grain of the veneer and secured to the uncreased surface of the blank, said straps having free ends and securing members on said free ends.

7. The structure of claim 1 characterized by and including flexible sheet metal straps having closely spaced upset prongs extending through the blank and securing the straps to the uncreased surface of the blank, said straps extending across the grain of the veneer.

8. A curved walled container including a tubular side wall formed of two layers of paper having secured between them a single layer of veneer separated, along the grain, and longitudinally of the container, into narrow strips, the strips being in their original position but spaced apart and structurally unconnected, the strips being separated along the grain and being spaced apart sufficiently to extend the across-the-grain length of the veneer by the order of from 5% to 15%, said side wall being formed and secured into tubular shape, a head extending into the opening formed by one edge of the side wall, said head being secured to said side wall, and said side wall being secured along the abutting end edges of the blank of which it is formed, the inner layer of paper being upset along its length with creases located substantially entirely along the gaps between the veneer strips, the outer layer of paper being in its original extended condition and crossing the gaps between the adjacent veneer strips.

'9. A curved walled container including a tubular side wall including an outer layer of paper and an inner single layer of veneer, the veneer being separated, along the grain, and longitudi nally of the container, into narrow strips, I the strips being in their original position but spaced apart and structurally unconnected, the strips. being separated along the grain and being spaced apart sufliciently to extend the across-the-grain length of the veneer by the order of from 5% to 15% said side wall being formed and secured into tubular shape, and a head extending into the opening formed by one edge of said side wall,

said head being secured to the edge of said side.-

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 18,792 Warren Apr. 11, 1933 322,911 Cosgrove July 28, 1885 954,105 Jenkins Apr. 5, 1910 1,191,765 Crumbaugh July 18, 1916 1,511,310 Warren Oct. 14, 1924 1,864,606 McBride June 28, 1932 2,019,610 Knowlton Nov. 5, 1935 2,053,685 Leopold et a1. Sept. 8, 1936 2,320,764 Ullrich June 1, 1943 2,336,158 Bell Dec. '7, 1943 2,379,258 Smith June 26, 1945 2,393,898 Goldman Jan. 29, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 226,892 Switzerland May 15, 1943 778,414 France Dec. 22, 1934 

